Educational Science

After Solar Eclipse, June's Venus Transit of Sun Is Next Amazing Sky Sight

Sunday's ring of fire solar eclipse may be history, but skywatchers have another stunning event to look forward to — next month's historic Venus transit of the sun. On Sunday (May 20), the moon covered most of the sun's disk but left a ring of light blazing around its circumference....

Rare Venus Transit of Sun in June to Amaze Skywatchers

Your last chance to watch Venus cross the face of the sun is less than a month away. This rare event, known as a transit of Venus, will take place on June 5 for Western Hemisphere observers, though it will be June 6 local time for skywatchers in the Eastern...

The same magnetic phenomenon that causes auroras on Earth has now surprisingly been discovered creating giant magnetic bubbles around Venus, a planet without a magnetic field. These findings could help explain mysterious flashes of light from Venus, in addition to the way comet tails work, researchers say. The Northern and...

Transit of Venus Offers Last-Chance Views

Look skyward, space-lovers: Tuesday, June 5 is the last chance in your lifetime to see the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. Venus won't visibly pass between the Earth and the sun again until 2117, so get your special sun-viewing glasses now. In North America, the transit...

Hubble to Watch Historic Venus Transit, Using Moon as Mirror

Scientists are planning to use NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to observe next month's historic transit of Venus across the sun's face. But there's a twist. Researchers can't point Hubble anywhere near the sun, because our star's bright light could damage the telescope's super-sensitive instruments. So Hubble will watch the June...

Scientists to Watch Historic Venus Transit of the Sun from Alaska

A NASA sun-watching spacecraft will have an unbeatable view of June's historic Venus transit, but some of the probe's scientists are taking measures to get a great look for themselves here on Earth, too. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite will watch from space as Venus crosses the sun's face...

Astronaut to Take 1st Transit of Venus Pictures From Space

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will have a unique vantage point for next week's transit of Venus, a stunning and rare event when Venus will appear as a tiny black dot on the sun as it crosses in front of our nearest star. The transit will take place June...

Rare Transit of Venus Puts Spotlight on Planetary Sun Crossings

A rare opportunity to see the planet Venus cross in front of the face of the sun is coming up next week. On June 5 to 6, Venus will transit the sun for the last time until 2117, joining the ranks of the handful of planetary transits that have occurred...

Venus and Pleiades Star Cluster Shine in Celestial Show Tuesday

As the bright planets Venus and Jupiter go their own separate ways after their spectacular tryst in mid-March, Venus continues to grow ever-brighter as the northern spring evenings warm up. The planet seems to gleam almost like a sequined showgirl, hovering in the west-northwest sky high above the setting sun....